Often informal leadership is more powerful than formal leadership.
John C. Maxwell in his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, talks about the law he calls: “The Law of E. F. Hutton.” While Maxwell was the “formal” leader he realized that he didn’t have the power in his local church: “I held the position, but Claude had the power.”
Maxwell realizes that this principle holds in every organizational setting and we can first realize and then utilize this informal power.
For example, many of us become amused at religious organizations that proclaim the local elders are in control of the local church organization. They rant against the formal leadership of the Catholic church and then have an “informal” brotherhood leadership. I can think of one church group where one particular person, with informal power, is called the “Pope” behind his back. He definitely can get you fired and hired no matter how much influence the local church elders may think they have. And so, he uses this informal power often to control a group of churches instead of his local church group. On an “informal” basis he is way off course and off base from what is taught on church leadership. Much of their brotherhood members are personally ignorant of bible subjects and just follow powerful informal leaders through church papers, preachers, the grapevine, etc. The brotherhood (members) trust the articles and “personal attack jobs” in their papers are religiously correct.
Some people preach that in order to have influence we must have personal integrity. Just consider all the exceptions (the major exception being Hitler along with many politicians). The only way you can tell some politicians are lying is because their lips are moving. Even so, they have personal influence. Also, media propaganda can be extremely powerful even if false and hardly believable.
Most VPs are intelligent enough to be nice to the delivery boy because they realize he’s the son of the CEO. Contradict informal power at your own risk.
